ASSAULT

Assault

At common law, an assault is an intentional act by one person that creates an apprehension in another of an imminent harmful or offensive contact.

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assault

Noun

  1. A violent onset or attack with physical means, as blows, weapons, etc.; an onslaught; the rush or charge of an attacking force; onset; as, to make assault upon a man, a house, or a town.
  2. A violent onset or attack with moral weapons, as words, arguments, appeals, and the like; as, to make an assault on the prerogatives of a prince, or on the constitution of a government.
  3. An attempt to commit battery: a violent attempt, or willful effort with force or violence, to do hurt to another, but without necessarily touching his person, as by lifting a fist in a threatening manner, or by striking at him and missing him.
  4. The crime whose action is such an attempt.
  5. An act that causes someone to apprehend imminent bodily harm.
  6. The tort whose action is such an act.
  7. A non-competitive combat between two fencers.

Verb

  1. To attack, threaten or harass.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: assault
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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